Undeniably Deniable
by steepedinshadows419
Summary: Barry Allen tries to avoid treating Nora West-Allen like his child. Unfortunately for him, a father's instinct is hard to suppress. Barry/Iris.


**A/N:** My very late submission to **westallenfun** 's _Westallen Family Event_ (on tumblr) from earlier this week. It's inspired from Grant's spoilery comment that Barry prefers to think of Nora as just a new ally he's helping out at first b/c he's struggling to come to grips with the fact that she's really his daughter. I'm tempted to make this into an ongoing multi of all the times Barry acts fatherly towards Nora without realizing it. Let me know if that would interest you!

 ***** Many thanks to **sendtherain** for beta'ing.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

It had been a long week. From dealing with the average meta to the new Big Bad on the street, everyone was so thoroughly exhausted that Cisco suggested they all get drinks at a bar to take the edge off. Barry then reminded him just how well that had worked out for him last time, and that Nora wouldn't be able to take advantage of any buzz either Cisco – _not that she should_ , he emphasized, which confused everyone else.

Despite her size, Nora had confirmed time and again that she was twenty-five, not a teenager. They all took her word for it – except for Barry, when it suited him.

The distance Nora had deliberately put between herself and Iris had started to dissipate after she'd finally been honest with her and Barry, and inevitably the team, about why she was so cold and reluctant to get to know the younger version of her mother. They weren't as close as Iris would have preferred, but with time and patience, they were getting there. Iris was willing to see her daughter as a friend for the time being, since it was kind of bizarre having her there as an adult. But in her mind, Nora was her daughter, not just another speedster needing the help of team Flash.

For Barry, things were not so cut and dry. He recognized she was obviously his daughter thanks to a gut feeling about it, same as Iris. If he was being honest, he'd had a familial feeling about her both when she was posing as a caterer at his and Iris' wedding and when she aided him in destroying the satellite after Devoe had been defeated. But after what Nora had told him about his future… regardless, if they would end up changing it or not, and the fact that her existence in 2018 threatened her existence in the time she'd come from, he was reluctant to get too close to her.

He understood her better than anyone, and he knew it. Devastating death of a parent, ability to travel through time, the answer is obvious: go back in time, save the parent, live happily ever after, anyone else's advice – even strongly-worded – be damned. And he knew his absence in her life must've been terrible for her. It hurt him to know that he'd never have those years with her. But beyond that, everything about Iris getting pregnant, seeing the ultrasound, picking a name, all of that had been stolen from him; and Iris, of course, but she didn't appear to be overly thrown by that. She was too eager to get to know their daughter in the now, despite what might happen in the future.

So, it was complicated. To make it less complicated, Barry pushed the obvious fact that she was his daughter out of his mind in his private thoughts; and instead thought of her as just another speedster, an equal, someone who needed assistance getting back to her time and perhaps some mentoring in regard to her speed as well.

That was just easier until he figured out a way to sort through everything else.

Unfortunately for him, some things were just ingrained. Once he knew she was his daughter, the father's instinct that he liked to pretend didn't exist between him and his daughter would spring to the forefront at the most unexpected times.

Tonight was one of those nights.

"No," he said instantly. "No, no, no, no, no."

Surprised by his strong rejection, Iris tried to soothe him, get him to see reason.

"Barry-"

"No."

He turned to face her with wide eyes.

"She cannot go out dressed like that."

Nora scoffed from the bottom of the stairs where she stood, decked out for their fun night at the club – an alternative to just a bar, since the speedsters could definitely enjoy themselves dancing. Iris held up a hand to silence her.

"Barry," Iris warned, pulling him away from who he'd decided was a very scantily-clad Nora West-Allen.

Her attire wasn't actually _that_ bad, Iris thought. Sure, her skirt was short, and leather, as was her jacket, and her patterned almost see-through top beneath was cut low enough to show cleavage enhanced by a push-up bra. But, adding the high heels, daring make-up, and dangly earrings, it was obvious that it more than toed the line of what her husband deemed appropriate.

After pulling him half across the room into the kitchen, out of sight of their daughter, she turned his face towards hers firmly to get his attention and whispered heatedly.

"She's an adult, Barry."

"She's-"

"And it's a club. Not a formal event, not something where she needs to look professional. And dressing casual isn't exactly appropriate attire for a nightclub."

"Wha- you're- I can't-" he sputtered, trying to look towards his daughter around the corner unsuccessfully. "Are you taking her side?"

Iris raised her eyebrows, amused.

"You're acting like an overprotective father, Barry," she said in a sing-song voice, well aware that was the one thing he was pretending he wasn't ever since Nora had shown up.

His jaw dropped. "I am _not_."

She blinked innocently. "No? Then what are you?"

He pulled back from her. "A concerned citizen from 2018 who wants to make sure she doesn't get assaulted for dressing the way she is."

Iris sighed testily. "Don't victim blame. And there will be many more scantily clad…citizens…at the club, I assure you."

He remained unmoved.

"And look at _me_." She let the light jacket fall off her shoulders to reveal the dress she wore, snug at the top and flowy from the waist downward. It wasn't as revealing a look as her daughter's, but it fell into the same category.

"E-Exactly," Barry said, struggling to keep his eyes on her face when every fiber in his being wanted to zero in on her body, with his eyes _and_ his hands. "I-If I'm feeling this way about you, just imagine what low-lifes will think about Nor-"

"Oh, for crying out loud," she muttered and yanked him down to her, sealing his whining with a passionate kiss that made him melt around her.

"Irisss," he slurred, and she smiled against his lips.

"Hush up about what Nora's wearing, and I promise there will be more where that came from when we get home."

Reluctantly he nodded and begrudgingly said, "Fine."

"Are you guys ready, or…?" Nora called out.

Iris patted the side of Barry's face and returned cheerfully, "Yep! All set."

At the club, Barry spent half the night glaring at anyone who dared to leer at Nora in even the slightest way, which he decided was everyone not in their group. Except Ralph, who tried to flirt with her a bit, leading Iris to have to restrain Barry from going after him, reminding him it was harmless and that Nora clearly wasn't interested because in her time he was like an uncle to her.

Still, only Iris pulling Barry onto the dance floor and mesmerizing him with her own moves got him to switch his attention away from his daughter being hit on by strangers. Besides, Nora held her own, pepper spray tucked safely away in her clutch and a dazzling smile followed by a stomp of high heels should they prove necessary. She took after her father in a lot of ways, but when it came to flirting she was like her mother; aware, indulgent, but inevitably dangerous in the face of unwanted persistence.

"Did you have a good time tonight, Nora?" Barry asked, still dizzy with the memory of how Iris had been pressed against him on the dance floor.

Iris sent her daughter a look, so her open mouth would be promptly shut.

"Yeah…I had a good time," she assured.

"That's great," he said, smiling like a fool, and she laughed, turning to Cisco as they left the club. "Has he always been like this?"

Cisco looked back at Barry and Iris, caught up in each other as they left and smiled, amused.

"Your mother has always had a profound effect on your father," he said, equally amused and barely holding back a snort.

Nora smiled to herself and bit her bottom lip. _I'm glad_.


End file.
